Business

Remember the report that,thanks to Equifax, we may all become victims of identity theft? The possibilities: credit card fraud, tax refund theft, ruined reputations and credit ratings replete with denied apartments, insurances, or jobs, and even worse: credit cards or bank accounts being set up in our names and the bill collectors coming for us over those false accounts, arrest warrants getting issued against us because of the crimes of others, arresting police shooting us in our beds… at least that’s what I can imagine coming at us. Here is an update interview:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Massachusetts First to Sue Equifax Over Massive Hack “)

It’s really sad to hear that the vulnerability is said to have been in an open-source software, since open-source is usually considered one of the best protections against hacking. But, of course, it won’t help when the quickly produced patches are not applied down the line, in this case by the staff of one of our three ruling credit bureaus. Continue reading →

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No need, this weekend, to slump and sink into the corporate media’s dementing morass. Here are six enlightening videos about our man-made nightmare world and ways to fix it. And to finish on a high note, number seven is a recording of some simple, harmless fun for a change. I hope you won’t mind. It reminds me of younger, more innocent times in my life, or the kind of life we could live if we didn’t have to struggle for survival so much in a world where natural scarcity has been overcome and replaced with man-made poverty, exclusion, and despair.

I. A Living Minimum Wage

Quite possible. Simply a policy choice:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Australian McDonalds Workers Paid Like No Worker In America Ever Has”)

This video nicely echoes things I keep saying: Low economic stress drives a lot of negative behavior. There are a lot of selfish reasons to want your fellow Americans to do well. You can do things for other people out of self interest.

Quote: “So many Americans have been bamboozled by the billionaires.”

II. Patronage instead of Democracy

The big business of raking in and skimming off political donations:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “DNC Having Trouble Fundraising—Nomiki Explains”)

III. Kick the Liars

An Example of Not Letting Lying Excuses Pass:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Campaign to Recall Californian Democrat that Blocked Single-Payer Underway”)

Let’s hope the recall works, and every other recall and ousting we must relentlessly attempt until we whittle the corrupt political establishment down.

IV. The GOP’s Christian Right

Ever wondered about the Christian Right which played such a big role in the GOP even as the GOP was hurting American workers, steamrollering over our Constitution, spreading war in the Middle East, abducting and torturing people, trying to dismantle Social Security and so on? Certain money barons in the GOP certainly partnered up with “Christian” leaders and took advantage of a unifying force which would let them betray the people to the corporations and billionaire class with impunity while their party base and voters were distracted over ancient Biblical bullying mandates and their modern resurrection, just like neoliberals in the “Democratic” Party were distracting us with minority protection issues (which, while valid, still distract us from the higher priorities — and which were going hand-in-hand with the GOP’s Christian Right trickery, by the way, like both parties were harmoniously working together for our robber billionaires — gee, were they?)? Well here is an interesting video talk about the other end of the equation:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Ex-Producer Reveals the truth about Pat Robertson”)

V. Grass Roots VS King Money

Ways for regular folks to deflate the iron rule of Money:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “D@W-LA: Nancy Berlin of Arroyo S.E.C.O.”)

VI. Manufacturing Terrorism: The Taliban

People rarely turn to extremism without reason or a little help:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Fact: Taliban Has Surrendered Multiple Times – US Rebuffed Them”)

VII. Some Harmless Fun to Finish With

Since I serve up so much depressing or exhausting news, how about a little, harmless snippet of fun to finish with for a change (and show us what a happy future world could look like):

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “The Funniest Table Tennis Match in HISTORY”)

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There is a meme-pic on mematic.net, picturing America’s 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, during whose term our corporate tax rate was the highest ever (90%!). It explains that tax rate quite logically as follows:

Corporate Tax Rate: 90%

Why? Because high corporate tax rates create incentive for big business to spend earnings and expand (i.e. new locations, new hires, new equipment, and product R&D) which are deducted from taxable earnings, thus driving reported wealth into a lower tax bracket. Better to spend a majority of earnings on expansion than to horde it and pay Uncle Sam 90% of it. It’s not Communism, it’s responsible economics.

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Here is the most amazing speech exposing the root of and cure for all our man-made problems in politics and the economy. Inequality, crushing debt, money in politics, devastating decisions — all derive from this root cause and can be fixed as described. This is the education of a lifetime for you or any confused people you know. The video is a must-see for every responsible person. Therefore I will point to it repeatedly, so you don’t miss it:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Economist Richard Wolff speaks about capitalism, socialism & democracy, proposing a new way forward”) Continue reading →

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Of all the politically relevant videos I have watched, this must be the best. If you don’t yet understand the root of all our problems, after this video you will, and you will have a powerful weapon in your arsenal to bring others into the light. This is the education of a lifetime. What better time than a bit of Sunday to invest one hour of your time to get the education of a lifetime?

In this video, Richard Wolff, whose information-packed eight minutes I shared with you yesterday, gives a clear and cogent critique of our awful current system and a clear cogent alternative. To summarize, currently, we leave the power of decision-making to a handful of self-serving people in the private sector who then throw us under the bus. The solution: make the economic system as democratic as we would like our political system to be. This will end the plutocracy and its constant gnawing on whatever democratic political institutions and justice-minded laws we erect.

What I have just described would be sufficient reason to mark this video as a must-see. But there is a lot more, too much to summarize briefly. You really are best off to watch the video (or listen to it) yourself:

(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “Economist Richard Wolff speaks about capitalism, socialism & democracy, proposing a new way forward”)

If you don’t have the time to watch this hugely informative speech by seasoned economist Richard Wolff right now, then do spend a minute reading my below commentary:Continue reading →

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An excellent article giving a quick insight into (one aspect of) the entirely parasitic modern form of financialized and casino capitalism that’s all about playing the markets and our vile banksters leeching off of working people and productive companies until life becomes so expensive we can’t afford it anymore.

In this article, you will also become a bit more familiar with Trump’s good friend, Goldman Sachs (from which so many of his appointees come).

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Finally, an honestly speaking capitalist tells it like it is: CEOs and business owners only hire people when the demand for their goods or services rises to make hiring more staff necessary. And from whom comes the demand? From you and me, when (or if!) we can afford to buy. And for this we need a fair economy with fair pay, fair taxes, and good income security.Continue reading →

If you have learned to overcome the corporate media blackout on the real news, you are probably aware of the brutality by police and private “security” firms used to force a totally unnecessary pipeline through Native American land and the thousands of volunteers trying to stop it.Continue reading →

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“So, it is not surprising that the quality of our lives has gone down via sinking income and rising living costs for all these decades while our smarmy politicians tell us through their lying teeth that our economy keeps growing.”

“For many of us, the water is up to our necks, and the same is true for the communities, plants, and animals we need to survive. Even our climate is toppling over. How much longer will we tolerate this system of death?”

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This excellent interview explains why our living costs keep rising without us getting any more for all the extra expense. It explains how all wealth keeps being transferred to the top; how we get poorer in a booming economy and booming stock market; how corporate raiding creates unemployment and makes those of us who still have jobs work ever harder; and what the unholy alliance (or rather abusive relationship) between Big Money and government has to do with it all.